Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Chicken Pecan Fettuccine

During the Christmas holidays last year, a popular food blogger posted a cranberry sauce recipe that very often, at least down south, has pecans in it, though this midwestern blogger could not understand why anybody would want to do that! Why everybody down south knows why... it's because pecans are good of course! And generally speaking, plentiful around here, though it seems less so these days.

Growing up, I can remember my Mama getting those big ole paper grocery bags from folks on The Point in Biloxi who kept pecan trees and would sell them on the side for some extra Christmas money. The bags would be overstuffed with whole pecans fresh off the tree and just waiting for eager hands to crack them. In fact, so many folks were selling pecans in those days that in order to compete for sales, for a slightly higher cost, you could often find them already cracked. Then all you'd have to do would be to pick them.

Let me tell you though, that cracking is some hard finger work, so naturally Mama took on the brunt of that as we kids, if we even bothered to help at all, quickly got bored. But, seeing as this occurred right before the two major holidays, we knew some goodies would be coming from those pecans - Mama's Finger Cookies, Fresh Apple Cake, and of course, the ultra-famous holiday pastry, Pusharatas, just to name a few!

We do tend to include pecans in many recipes in the south - both sweet and savory - and I suppose in places that many cooks not from the south might indeed find odd. Oh well, just one of our southern quirks I guess, but take my word for it, in this pasta recipe adapted from Southern Living, it really works! Enjoy.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1-1/2 cups of the water, and return pasta to pot. In a separate large skillet, melt a tablespoon of butter and add the pecans; toast over medium high heat until crisp and aromatic; set aside for garnish.

Add oil to the skillet over medium high heat and cook chicken until browned. Add to drained pasta and toss. Add the green onion to the skillet and cook until softened; add garlic and cook another minute. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Pour over the drained pasta and toss.

To the skillet, add the butter, half and half, parsley, salt and pepper; warm through. Pour over the hot fettuccine and mix well, adding additional pasta water if too dry. Add the Parmesan cheese and toss. Transfer to a large pasta platter or individual plates and sprinkle with the toasted pecans. Serve immediately.

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27 comments:

Congratulations on the new baby Mary. Have fun shopping for the new little one--they have such cute little girl clothes--and the tiny shoes!! My oh my--that fettucini looks so good. That will definitely go on my to try list. Thanks for visiting my blog. Sheila in NC

Oh Mary, My little grandaughter is 5 weeks old this week! It is different having a girl than a boy, but both are so much fun! Congrats to you and your family on this new little darling! Let the shopping begin! :)I don't feel old enough to be a grandmother either, so I try not to look in the mirror too often-hehehYour fettuccini looks amazing-pecans just put it over the top!I believe pecans will make just about anything better!

Congrats, I know just how you feel! There is nothing better than a new grandchild.The recipe looks delicious. My cousin just visited me from Texas and brought me about 15 pounds of pecans from her back yard. I will definitely be using some of them in this recipe.

First of all, congratulations on your first granddaughter! How wonderful!

Your fettucini looks so good! The flavors and textures all sound perfect together. I use a ton of pecans in my baking and sometimes my cooking too. I always sub pecans when a recipe calls for walnuts. They're my favorite.

We had a pecan grove growing up, and yes, would bring some of the pecans back in big grocery bags, to sell to neighbors and acquaintances. Friends and close neighbors got 5 pounds of shelled pecans...guess who did the shelling and pick-work...*sigh*...I inherited the pecans and have let them just go wild and abandoned, and people go there to gather them in the fall, make a little outing of it...some very poor folks have little gardens at one edge of the grove...I will try your recipe, it sounds so wonderful!

Thanks for giving me a cool recipe to use for pecans besides pecan pie! :) I love pie but I'm always looking for pecan recipes. I live in an area of TX where pecans trees are all over the place. The last house we owned we had about 4/5 pecan trees. :) I'd give them away by the 5 gallon bucket full. :) My grandma decorates cakes with them. Anyway, thanks again for sharing.

I LOVE pecans and I grew up in Washington State. Pecans "are" good.When I was growing up tho, it was big old gunny sacks of walnuts, that we had to shell. I hated it then, but the memories are great.Your fettucini looks good.

This dish was so easy and yummy. I substituted bacon for the pecans and cooked the chicken in the same pan as I cooked the bacon (minus the grease). My husband has requested that this go in the "Duke Family Favorite Cookbook". I have enjoyed your site and look forward to making more of your recipes.

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